Michael Hibbard

Tag: horror

I initially received this photo via email. It had gone to spam, since the address seemed a bit dodgy, and over the top in its attempt to scare me into clicking the photo — awarningtoall@gmail.com. Since there was no message, I simply deleted it, figuring it was some sort of mal-ware despite its unnerving appearance. However, a few days later, I received it again and it contained the following message:

Your world is distorted and spiraling ever further into chaos. This is by your design. You have failed to understand the purpose of your existence, and it is not for me to explain. It was your responsibility to evolve into something more than an all-consuming swarm of self-absorbed locusts. That is at an end now. I have worked silently, detected, yet unknown, hidden in plain sight and murdering benevolently. I gain no solace from my work, nevertheless, I must continue before you commit suicide, collectively and completely.

Before I continue with this first letter – the first of many to come – I want you to be clear on a few simple points. There is no point in trying to ascertain my identity or find me in any way. You will waste your time, because you cannot find me with the limited capabilities of your feeble minds. In addition, those of you who are unfortunate enough to be on my list, you cannot hide from me. You make my work easy through your insipid need to be noticed – tweeting, status updates, checking in, photos, blogging, and “selfies”. I can pluck you off the streets or out of your bed in the dead of night and there is no stopping me. My experience is vast in the art of observation and extermination. My purpose is very clear and I have no doubts about my mission. Doubt is a human characteristic. I am more than human. I know you because I began just as you do, wandering listlessly through existence without the faintest of ideas on purpose. Knowledge comes through experience, trial and error. Now, I can see things you are unable to see. I can see things you don’t want others to see – things you don’t want me to see.

You think your darkest deeds, secrets and wishes stay hidden within the thin space between your ears, yet it is recorded on the fabric of space and time for all eternity. Once something is known, it cannot be unknown. This is a fundamental law of the universe, just as I now embody one of its laws – all things must die. I can see the thoughts on the record of the cosmos, then follow the trail of putrid breadcrumbs that lead to those who most deserve punishment. The only law constraining me is that my punishment must be equal to the deed for which I will punish you. I am not the cruel one, I merely a product of your actions. Since the dawn of humanity, I have been among you. I chose to reveal myself now because your world is ending. Many will die, and not just by my hands. I watch your news and see that you are quite astute in the art of killing. The pity is that you kill at all. The evil ones kill on a whim as by-standers look on like soulless zombies, recording the atrocious acts on their electronic devices, for the same selfish reasons you do anything else in your empty lives – to attain a fleeting moment of notoriety on the internet or the evening news. This is the very reason your world will end, more rapidly than you can imagine. I have written this in the hopes that perhaps knowing these facts will change your ways, though I remain skeptical.

People from every aspect of your failed society litter my list, which I prioritized by the severity your immoral acts. Crimes against the pure and innocent I deal with swiftly and innocuously. I used to empathize with your race, but that has left me now – all that is left is pity. The more I observe, the more I find that single smudge of black floating in your soul, a scar of the deed you committed against another. These shards of darkness sing to me across time and space. Eventually, I will come for you unless you find a way to expunge it from your being, and make an act of true contrition. However, I must warn you that the only god that can save you is the god within yourself, which you refuse to see. You look to the heavens with empty eyes and hearts, begging for forgiveness from an entity who has long since ignored your disingenuous atonement. From this lack of hope, I am born.

There is no heaven or hell. Life is a cycle of birth, death and rebirth. When the end does come, some will survive to rebuild. It will be their responsibility to learn from your mistakes, and perhaps I will slumber once more — but humanity has not allowed me to do so in a very long time. There are those among you who ensure that I have a constant supply of letches to eradicate from this world. You stray from the simple path easily, and you willingly destroy yourselves every moment of the day. You have unwittingly created the weapon of your mass destruction, and you are too blind to see it, even as you read this with skepticism and contempt in your heart. Your arrogance, your technology and your belief systems have brought us to this brief moment in the history of existence where the world will face its ultimate demise.

Why do I continue my work if the world is truly ending? The answer is very simple, even for you. I will pave the way for those who have remained true to themselves and realize their purpose. There are fewer and fewer of you left. You allow the licentiousness, debauchery and narcissism of others to dirty your souls, and only you can purge this from your being.

Those of you who have received or read this missive are targets for my list. As I said, I do have pity, for those who deserve it. It is through these series of letters that I will assist you in cleansing the darkness from the depths of your heart. You can begin by looking into the mirror. Stare into your eyes and see your soul as I see it. There, the deed will reveal itself, if you truly wish to see it – however, most of you will dismiss this. Once you stare into the darkness in your soul, you will see me staring back at you. It is at that moment that either your mind will accept this and make amends or you will punish yourself by retreating into the waiting arms of madness, imprisoned within your mind.

Spread this message, or do not. My job will continue. Now that you know I exist, you may think twice before evoking further maliciousness against others. If you do not, you should not be surprised when a stranger approaches you from the shadows to force your atonement, and witness the cruelty of which I am capable.

Apollyon

Has anyone else received this email? Seems like some sort of creepypasta to me. I haven’t emailed the person back because it could just be some marketing scheme, or a nutjob looking to find someone to mess with. But, if you have received it, please put a comment below.

Over the past year I have been asked on several occasions by people if they could contribute fan fiction to my sites for the Waking Dream. This was my intention from the beginning.

I have 4 main blogs, two of which are set up for fan or flash fiction. The Way of the Weird (http://wayoftheweird.com) is a site that features information about the Waking Dream as researched by the character Justin, who suffers from multiple personality disorder. Though I have been recently remiss in contributing to the site, I intend on beginning this weekend with new content. Stories for the Way of the Weird are histories, folklore and current events in the Waking Dream Universe.

The second fiction blog I am just beginning which is Corridor 03 (http://corridor3.com). This is a mock psychiatric unit where the fiction will center around case studies and personal journals of patients, doctors and staff in the unit. Corridor 03 is a part of the psychiatric facility from Waking Dream: Devlin (Book 1). I am interested in anyone who would like to contribute as a patient, doctor or staff. The site will continue to grow, adding to Waking Dream Mythos, or as I call it, The Loethian Mythos.

Over the next month I will be putting up a series of posts explaining the Loethian Mythos which will serve as the framework for others to contribute. One can learn a great deal by all the content on Way of the Weird, as well as reading the books I’ve published to date.

If you are interested in writing for Way of the Weird, please send an email to weird@wakingdreamonline.com. If you are interested in writing for Corridor 03, please use the contact form on the Administration page.

I have not forgotten about the rest of the story I started, however, lately I have been working on several different projects that have been coordinating. But, things are moving along nicely.

Before I get into today’s post I did want to mention that there are several things coming out over the next few months that may be of interest to you:

1) The Little Book of Dreams: This is the bible or Necronomicon for the Waking Dream. It is a major expansion on material that I have already published on The Way of the Weird. I feel its time that you should know more about the Waking Dream.

2) Getting to Devlin: This is a Waking Dream Young Adult novel, with events leading up to the first novel, Waking Dream: Devlin. This is a collaborative work.

3) Super Secret Project: I am collaborating with others on a series and though it is not a Waking Dream novel, it will have elements of the Waking Dream woven within. I will have more information on this in the coming months. I am very excited about the project.

4) Waking Dream: The Unkindness: I have been working diligently on this book, however, I feel I want to take my time until others are more familiar with the series. Fear not, it is coming, and you won’t see it coming.

5) Shadow of the Soul: This is another Lovecraftian piece I am working on for exclusive publication on Kindle and it will be finished by mid summer.

I thank you all for your continued support! Now, my top 13 books to dream by. These books were major inspiration to my writing, and I feel everyone interested in my work would find these books equally inspiring:

I mention these particular books because they were instrumental in helping me formulate my ideas about life, spirituality and the universe. All of these I have read numerous times, and each time, I find something new and noteworthy as a read. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Mark Meier, a fellow writer, asked me to join a blog tour last week. I am very grateful to be recognized by my colleagues and be asked to join in the fun!

Before I answer the questions for the tour, I’d like to introduce another blogger/writer with amazing insight and ability, Victoria Craven. Victoria runs the blog, The Autodidact in the Attic, which focuses on the macabre, horror and a wide variety of intellectual stimulus. Here is her bio:

V.L. Craven lives with her husband and pets. She writes fiction—both short and long—and reviews of books, films & art, as well as essays, articles and interviews with all sorts of interesting people.

She’s always appreciated the darker side of life, which is the focus of her blog The Autodidact in the Attic, (see also its Facebook page). TAitA has reviews of books, films, art, apps and games (and interviews with creators of those things) that will appeal to people with an interest in the macabre or gothic.

She will be posting her answers to the blog tour questions next Monday, so do yourself a favor and check out her amazing site.

Now on to my answers:

1) What am I working on?

I am always working on a variety of projects simultaneously, that’s just how my brain works. Right now, I am doing a serial short story on this blog, writing Book II in the Waking Dream Series — The Unkindness — and I am involved in a collaborative series with two other authors (details to come later this year). My Waking Dream Series is the primary focus and I am always doing research as the it covers alternate history, philosophy, and science.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I write novels and short stories. My short stories tend to be very dark. My favorite short stories are the ones I write in Lovecraftian style. I am no Lovecraft, mind you, however I have enormous respect for his creations and imagination.

The Waking Dream series is really a mixture of many genres, so it is very hard to put it in any one box — I am not a fan of being pigeonholed. The Waking Dream Series is an attempt to blur the lines between fantasy and reality. Much of the subject matter is based on years of research. I have always been fascinated with the paranormal and the supernatural — specifically the potential of the human mind. The Waking Dream is my attempt to present a plausible framework for readers to suspend their disbelief and explore their own lives. Life is a dream, if you really think about it. We always have control over how our lives go, no matter the situation. And once you believe that, you can do anything.

The Waking Dream series has elements of horror, paranormal, supernatural, romance, dystopia, apocalyptic events and fantasy. It is very dark. One of my fans put it, “It’s the Matrix meets The Stand”. The first book is my Fellowship of the Ring. It is the twilight before the sun sets on our world. The subsequent books will descend further into the darkness of reality and the human mind.

One final note, there are many things hidden within the stories and novels, tying them together as well as giving avid readers something to discover within the text. Everything in the Waking Dream Series is carefully calculated. What have you found hidden within the story?

3) Why do I write what I do?

I love to create worlds. The Waking Dream is, as I mentioned, an attempt to impart all I’ve learned about the human condition and get the reader to explore and create their own dream. The world seems to be at an impasse, and we are not moving forward as we should from a philosophical sense. While the Waking Dream is fiction, there are elements of truth in ever sentence I write — the things I believe to be true.

I write the Lovecraftian stories because I want his legacy to continue, as well as many other authors. Being able to create a story that emulates the master gives me a sense of humility. Many writers have walked in his footsteps, but his personal commitment to his craft is something to be admired, respected and remembered for all time.

4) How does my writing process work?

I don’t have a specific process for writing. When I feel like writing, I write. And because I have a wide variety of projects I am working on at any given time, I choose the project to work on that most suits my particular mood. I believe that an author needs to be prolific to be successful. Very few authors become successful with one book, or even their first book. The more work you have out, you have a better chance of being discovered by new readers. It is a snowball effect.

One thing I do tend to stick to in any project is that I usually begin with an illustration. Next to writing, illustrating is one of my favorite hobbies. I have over 50 illustrations for the Waking Dream, as well as maps. I want the Waking Dream to be similar to the Cthulhu Mythos so that other authors can contribute their own stories to the ever-growing Waking Dream Universe.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this little excursion into my writing career. Perhaps you’ll be interested in reading my work, which is listed on the right side bar. Please be sure to check out Victoria Craven’s answers next Monday on her blog.

Yes, I am finally back to my normal self, despite recovering from a dislocated finger! One of the most annoying maladies that a writer can endure! But I am on the mend, and as a result, I’ve begun another serial short story.

I have been sitting on this story for many years because some of the elements of the story are true, yet, I embellished it a bit, like we writers do. The paranormal constantly enters my life at the most opportune moments. Being a dark fiction writer, it is as if the universe is slowly giving information so I can weave these tales and perhaps enlighten others to the things that exist just beyond the curtain of reality.

This story is a mixture of horror, paranormal and Southern Gothic genres. It’s not true Southern Gothic because it is set in Pennsylvania, but it embodies the elements of Southern Gothic, which is an exposure of the shadows cast

So, without further babbling, let us visit…

The Third Floor – Part 1

When I pulled up to the mansion in the woods, I immediately had the urge turn around and drive off, but my situation left me little recourse. The ominous structure seemed misplaced in such a rural area and exhibited a mixture of both Georgian and Antebellum architectures. Ivy covered the majority of the southern side of the home, with ancient oaks and walnut trees towering over the third level of the home. Moreover, as I looked up into the empty windows, though I could not see anything, I could feel as if something watched me.

I came to this forlorn structure as a result of losing my job as a sous-chef at a prominent French Restaurant just outside Valley Forge. My employer and I differed on several points of technique in the kitchen, as well as how long one should be required to work in a day. When I refused to work a sixty-hour week, he summarily fired me. I was thankful that it was summer as destitution forced me to live in my vehicle.

Fortunately, I quickly found a job posting in the local free paper. The ad was for a private chef, meals and lodging included, as well as a modest weekly salary. It was exactly what I needed, and I attributed the good fortune to providence. I immediately found the nearest pay phone, and scheduled an interview. This one encounter would change the course of my life and expose a new path, one I’d not considered before.

I arrived five minutes early, staring at the house for a few moments before I gained the courage to approach the main door of the house.

An elderly man with a cane, and two large German Shepherds, greeted me. This intimidated me, yet I smiled as warmly as possible and offered a hand.

We entered a large foyer, with a crystal chandelier hanging from the second floor ceiling. To the right of the door, an elegant stair case wound up to the balcony overhead, like the tail of a dragon. We walked passed a large library with a hospital style bed in the middle of the room, then out to a large slate patio overlooking a stream fed in-ground pool, cut from the native granite on which the entire property sat.

Walter motioned to a chair at a wrought iron table. I took a seat opposite him. The two dogs dutifully took their positions on either side of him. Despite his hunched posture, he was a tall, thin man with sunken eyes, the youth long since drained from his body, leaving nothing more than a frail husk.

“Did you say you worked at The Forge?” He asked.

“Yes,” I said. “And to be quite honest, I did not leave on good terms. So, if you plan to call them for a reference, it will probably not be favorable.”

“Have you worked anywhere else around the area?”

I rattled off a few others local restaurants of lesser quality.

The old man nodded.

“And of course, I attended the Culinary Institute.” I added.

“Sounds good enough for me,” The old man said with a nod.

“I live here in the house alone. I have a housekeeper that comes several times a week and cooks for me in the meantime since my last chef quit. And calling her a cook is a bit of a stretch.” He said and then smirked. “There is also my gardener who doubles as a driver, but I would prefer you take that role on as well, considering you’ll be living here. Is that agreeable to you?”

“Of, course,” I said. “Do you have a car, or would you expect to use mine? My car has seen better days.”

“I have a Rolls Royce,” He said with an arrogant smile.

“A Rolls?”

“Yes,” He said. “Now, let’s discuss your salary. Because I am offering you room and board, I offer you two-hundred dollars a week. Is that acceptable?”

I pondered the offer for a few moments. I hoped it would be larger so that I could save money to get myself back on my feet.

“That’s just fine,” I said finally. “What about vacation time?”

“Maria, the housekeeper, can fill in for you if you feel the need to vacation. However, I will require at least two weeks notice, and you can never be away more than five days at a time.”

“Very well,” I said. “Will you be deducting taxes from my pay before hand?”

“No, young man. I intend to pay you in cash. It is none of my business how you manage your finances.”

“Thank you.” I said with earnestness in my voice. As adverse as I was to engaging in illegal activities, that extra percentage would allow me to leave his service sooner.

“Do we have a deal?” He asked.

“Yes, indeed we do, Walter,” I replied with fervor.

“Now,” He said as he stood; the dogs flanked him. “I will give you a brief tour, and then I will show you to your suite.”

He led me first to an enormous kitchen, which seemed to have all new appliances–they were immaculate.

“I eat all my meals in here at this table,” he said. “I am a creature of habit as you will come to find soon enough. Consistency and ritual is the key to a successful life. As such, I typed up the menu for you. You are free to prepare the dishes anyway you like, but you must adhere to the overall essence of the meal.”

“Very well,” I said.

“All the food is delivered to the house, so if you need things that are not on the normal list, you will need to let the delivery service know beforehand.”

He motioned to a door near the refrigerator. “That door leads to the second floor, the servant’s staircase. If you need to be in the kitchen when I am asleep, I urge you to use them. I am a light sleeper, and the dogs are always on alert when I am asleep. Once I am up, I will be unable to go back to sleep. So please be mindful of that.”

“Of course.” I said.

“Very well then,” He opened the door. I’ll show you to your suite.”

With excruciating slowness, he mounted the stairs to the second floor, rising like Jacob’s ladder. Once at the top, I saw the long hall that stretched the full length of the house to the balcony that overlooked the foyer. As we walked, I counted ten doors lining the hall. We came to a double door just beyond the balcony. There were two rooms behind the doors — the master bedroom and a smaller bedroom. There were also two restrooms.

“This is the master suite, and you are free to use it as you will.” He began. “Be mindful that Maria is not responsible for washing your clothes. She will change the bed sheets once a month, but that is it. You are responsible for washing your own clothes and keeping the room tidy.”

“Of course,” I said. “Is there a laundry room in the house?”

“Yes,” He said. “It’s in the basement.”

He turned and motioned to a walnut door, which had a twin at the other end of the hall.

“That is the door to the third floor,” He said. “You are not free to go up there. That is for storage, and there are things strewn about. I’d rather not be paying hospital costs due to carelessness.”

“I don’t plan to snoop around your house,” I said. “Rest assured all your belongings are safe. I’m a cook, not a thief.”

The old man nodded with satisfaction.

“I will leave you to explore the rest of the house. The library and my office are also both off-limits. But you are free to roam the house and use the pool as you like.” He turned and moved to the staircase, making his slow descent. “But for now, I must rest. I will let you settle in. But I expect dinner to be ready by six P.M.”

“Of course,” I said. “Thank you for this opportunity, Walter.”

He looked back at me over his shoulder, “No, thank you for not subjecting me to Maria’s meals any further. See you a six.”

While the pay wasn’t what I wanted, and the idea of being a servant didn’t appeal to me, I was thankful that I wouldn’t be sleeping in my car anymore.

After bringing my belongings in from the car, I started exploring. I had plenty of time to make supper, and it was an easy meal to fix. He simply wanted grilled steak, baked potato and corn — not what I was used to preparing.

The house was larger than I expected. Downstairs, there was a large formal dining room that could seat 20 people and another large formal living room with seating for at least fifty people. Walter must have been quite the entertainer back in his younger days to warrant such accommodations.

After changing to make dinner, I walked down the hall, opening each door and peeking inside. There were six bedrooms, one restroom and a nursery. I couldn’t fathom having such a large family. I am an only child, and my parents had passed only a few years before. It was no wonder that Walter had to amass such fortune.

Thought he instructed me not to go to the third floor, my natural curiosity urged me to at least peer up the stairs. I glanced around carefully and listened for the Walter. I could hear a rattled cough far within the depths of the house. Satisfied, I opened the door slowly as it creaked with disuse. Cold air immediately poured over me like a flash flood, causing me to shudder. This caused me great pause, yet a poked my head inside and peered upwards.

An unnatural inky darkness, enshrouded the ascending steps and the hall beyond. I could barely make out a door at the top of the stairs, and a mini dust devil no doubt perturbed by the sudden movement of air. I stood and watched silently for a few minutes before closing the door again.

I decided it was best to leave the third floor alone for the time being, but something in my gut told me there was much more than boxes and cobwebs hidden away in that dark place. But having just gotten the job, it was best that I waited at least a few days before secretly exploring the Old Man’s dark secrets.

I hurried to the kitchen to prepare the bland meal for the old man, but the chill persisted even as I entered the warm kitchen. There was something more to that house and my eccentric employer.

I apologize for my recent, extended absence. Most of you know that I am a very prolific blogger, and the last few months I’ve been rather crestfallen and that does not make for good inspiration.

I know many of you are wondering what’s going on with Book II for the series, as well as my other writing endeavors. I have had little inspiration lately as a result of some events that have been transpiring over the past few months and they have snowballed into a full on winter of the brain. But I am back to Book II, which is half way done, and I have other stories coming as well. Soon you will find out the fate of our world– the Waking Dream.

I apologize to all of you who think I may be ignoring you, or have found others more interesting to chat with, that is not the case. I appreciate all of my blog, Facebook and Twitter friends. And I promise, now that the weather is warming, I will be in a much more verbose mood.

The first book of the series is still available, and slowly gaining traction. It’s very hard to get the word out for your book, especially being a new author. My other self-published books are steadily selling, and that’s a good thing. I will not be publishing my future books with my current publisher, but rather moving forward on my own. I have learned a great deal about this industry, more than I wanted to know, and I feel wholeheartedly that the best course for any new writer is to begin with self-publishing. I have seen many professional organizations for authors starting to change their view of the self-published author. And in general, the only person who can really sell your book is YOU. It comes from your heart, soul and mind. No one will ever be able to do justice to your story but you.

When you are long gone, people will read your work and try to understand what you were trying to convey — debate it, degrade it or deify it. This one point is the sole reason I adopted autodidactism as my personal educational journey. I have learned that I cannot follow the herd in a classroom, because I cannot be taught in a linear, structured fashion. And, this realization occurred in the fall of 1991 in my American Literature class. I majored in English, of course, and one particular day will stick in my mind forever.

We were dissecting “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Poe. The professor had made an assertion, which he wanted to impress on the students, that the narrator was the one who was insane, and not Madeline and Roderick. This is not to say that it may or may not be true, however, the professor was asserting that it as fact. I am a huge fan of Poe, and of course, I had to weigh in this debate. It became very heated, and I finally asked him, “Did you meet Poe and get the answer from him?”

As a result, I was asked to leave the class. This was both a victory and an epic fail because, unfortunately, I had the same professor for my next class. I left college shortly there after, realizing that I was trapped in a box. The man in a box.

Now that I am an author, I have had many people tell me their take on my story, and I love to talk about it with them, because its more than a story, it’s an exploration of our universe, and my/your inner-self. Make the dream, own the dream and live the dream. I write because I enjoy it, but it also carries the sum of all I have learned about our weird existence.

I thank you all for your steadfast support. And I have decide I will publish a new short story, inspired by my favorite novel, The Great Gatsby — with a Waking Dream twist of course. That’s assuming I get the permissions to use the name

Lovecraft and his style have always fascinated me. I have been a fan since I was very young, and it wasn’t until recently one of my reviewers pointed out the similarity in style and writing. Creating a mythos for Waking Dream was my goal from the beginning, but not expanding upon the Lovecraftian Mythos. Since then I’ve tried my hand at a couple Lovecraft inspired stories, and have begun a minor expansion of the Mythos. This article explains how I got where I am as a writer.

Just wanted to share with you an awesome review of my latest publication, Immortal Memories.

You can read a synopsis of the stories here. They are self-contained stories about the Immortals that inhabit the Waking Dream Universe. Each story is of a different genre, and set in various time periods over the last 200 years. There is something for everyone!

I just wanted to update you all on my status as of late. The Flu that I had for two weeks, completely destroyed my rhythm of writing and my daily life. It is only now that I am able to get back into the swing of writing again.

I have a bit of news to relay.

1) Waking Dream: The Unkindness has been pushed back for obvious reasons, and I think we are looking at a late spring release. This book will be much more involved that the first, and truly sets the stage for the rest of the series.

2) I will be no longer doing serial stories on the site, as it has presented an editing and continuity nightmare. I will be finishing “The Shadow of the Soul” as a single post in the near future. I am also working on a short story for submission to magazines, that will not be published on the blog — “The Darkling Imp at Twilight”

3) I am very excited to tell you that I have been asked by two best-selling authors to work with them on a new mystery series. There will be 12 books in all, and I will be writing two of them! More details to come on that once everything has been agreed on.

I will work on “The Shadow of the Soul” over the long weekend, and have it done for you hopefully by next week! I will also be giving a synopsis of my new short story series, “Tales from the Supernaturalist”. This series will be written in Lovecraftian style, with “The Darkling Imp at Twilight” as the introduction to our would-be hero, Zachary Tyler.

In anticipation of Waking Dream: The Unkindness, Book II in the Transformation Series, I am making Lost Haven available for free.

Following the events at the Halloween celebration in Devlin, an ancient society is forced from the shadows, The Order of Seers. Their order is slowly being assassinated, one by one and they discover there is a traitor in their midst.

Left with no option other than to destroy their Haven in Germany, they are forced to seek out a long forgotten Haven outside the town of Devlin. As a result, they are forced to enlist the aid of their spy in the town of Devlin to uncover the identity of their assassin.

If you’ve not read the rest of the first book in the series, here is a free opportunity to explore the Weirdness that is The Waking Dream.